


Absolution

by Resplendent_Roses



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: A tiny bit of Tim/Kon, Brother Feels, Gen, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-18
Updated: 2015-12-18
Packaged: 2018-05-07 09:30:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5451797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Resplendent_Roses/pseuds/Resplendent_Roses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim and Damian have always hated each others guts. In the emotional aftermath of Damian's death, Tim wants to find a way to reconcile with his little brother. Getting a building dropped on their heads? Not exactly Tim's idea of brotherly bonding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Absolution

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wanted Timmy and Damian to reconcile somehow and it was a long night of shifting through headcannons and exploring why people ship Tim/Kon (Because there are thousands of comics and I haven't gotten to Teen Titans yet) and this happened.

 

 

 

Tim's day hadn't exactly been perfect, but it just got infinitely worse. He hadn't the faintest clue how a shitty day turned into a shittier day, holding a sobbing Damian in the basement of a steadily collapsing building.

Really, no idea. 

 

~~~

 

"Morning Tim," Dick said, giving his hair a ruffle. Tim sat between him and Jason, grabbing for the cereal. 

"Morning Dickie," Tim replied. 

"Replacement." 

"Drake." 

Jason and Damian weren't morning people apparently. 

"Whats the matter? Didn't get enough sleep?" 

"No." They replied in unison. Jason seemed unfazed by the question, but Damian fidgeted in his seat. 

Dick nudged Tim and muttered something that sounded like 'drop it'. Dick had seen it enough times. When Jason had come back to the manor, finally giving up his death wish on the family, Dick heard screaming almost every night. He found out it was nightmares about his death when Jason came crying into his bedroom. Jason's nightmares had faded with time and help from Dick, but Damian's were just starting. It was hard enough with Jason crawling in bed with him even at the age of 19, but Dick's bed wasn't big enough for both of them to come needing a good cuddle. It usually turned into a fight over who had more of the older brother to hug. 

Tim shrugged. He knew all of this anyways. He forgot sometimes, as most people with the privilege of not dying tend to do. Hell, Tim crawled in with Dick once only to find Jason and Damian already there, and Dick had to move them all to Bruce's bed, which was unsurprisingly unoccupied considering their father's 'nightly habits'. 

"Morning Sirs," Alfred entered the room with his fresh tea and usual aloof attitude. Dick made a mental note to ask for a bigger bed later. "What are we all up to today?" 

"Haley's is in town and Babs and I were planning on having another trapeze lesson. She's really getting the hang of it. We're going to try and have her practice getting up and down by herself. She's really determined to not have my help climbing the ladder. Her arms are going to be bigger than Jason's by the time she's done pulling herself all the way up to the bars." 

"Her arms are already bigger than mine," Jason snorted into his cereal. 

"You two should arm wrestle," Tim poked at his toast with his butter knife. 

"You kidding? Babs would beat the shit out of me." 

"What about you three?" Alfred turned to Jason, Tim, and Damian. Jason merely shrugged, but Tim blushed. 

"Conner and I are going to a movie." 

"Lovely. And is Master Kent joining us for breakfast?" 

"What? I- I mean, he's not exactly _here_ , Alfred." 

"I see. Well, the half naked young man I ran into on my way downstairs trying to climb out of a third story window would suggest otherwise," Alfred took a long sip of his tea, staring down the young Timothy. 

"Timmy! You didn't!" Dick gasped between giggles. He and Jason were falling over onto Tim, laughing. 

"Oh shut up!" Tim hissed, "Like we haven't caught Roy and Kory _both_ here." 

"Please, that's your come back?" Jason snorted, "I bet you haven't gotten into half of the stuff with Conny that the three of us have done together in this house." 

"Alright, that's quite enough," Alfred sighed. 

While Tim was trying his best not to strangle Jason, Dick looked down the table to his youngest brother, who was poking at his pancakes with disinterest. 

"Hey Baby Bird, you okay?" 

"I'm fine Grayson." 

"We can talk about it in private if you want. I know I don't really understand all that well. Jason went through the same stuff. You should talk. I know you two don't always get along but he does love you and wants to help you with this." 

"I said I was fine!" Damian snapped, bringing the attention of the others back to him. 

"Geez Damian, Dickie bird looks like he's gonna cry," Tim said.

"Shut up, Drake." 

"Good lord, you look like _you're_ gonna cry. What is this? Damian? You have emotions?" 

"I SAID SHUT UP, YOU WORTHLESS WASTE OF SPACE!" Damian hollered, slamming a hand down on the table. Everyone's plates flew into the air. Dick and Jason had the reaction time to catch theirs, but Tim's ended up on his face. 

"That's it, you little brat!" Tim stood, wiping the eggs off of his nose and taking a fighting stance. 

"Tim, back off!" Dick hissed, also standing. He turned to the smaller boy, who was starting to hyperventilate. "Damian? Your powers haven't fully gone away yet, it's okay. Breathe, Baby Bird." 

"What's going on?" Conner appeared in the doorway. "Tim?" 

"Nothing, just a fight," Tim sunk back down into his chair. 

"He got a little too heated with the remnants of his powers," Dick explained, rubbing Damian's shoulders while he tried to slow down his breathing. 

Conner raised an eyebrow and floated over, "Damian, right? It helps if you try and focus on something. Believe me, I've lost my cool more times than I can count." Conner replaced Dick, putting his hands on his shoulders. "Tim tells me that you and Dick are pretty close. Let's calm down, okay? Focus on Dick's breathing, and try to match his pace. If you breath really fast like this, you're gonna pass out." 

Damian's piercing eyes met Dick's, and flicked down to his chest, watching it rise and fall. Damian's breathing started to slow up. 

"There you go, no harm done." 

"That was amazing Conner, thanks," Dick smiled and shook his hand. 

"No problem, Tim does it for me all the time." 

Jason saw the scowl that Damian gave Tim. He sighed. It was going to be a long day. 

 

~~~

 

And a long day it was. 

Damian found every possible way to avoid his family, taking Titus outside for walks every half hour. Tim did the same, except he spent his time with Conner in his room. Dick went off with Babs and who knows what Jason was getting up to. Bruce was still off world, and Gotham was quiet. Almost too quiet for Tim. 

"I just don't understand why he hates me so much," Tim sighed, going through his books and putting them back in order on his shelf while Conner helped fold clothes. 

"You don't really act like a peach to him yourself. I had to come calm him down? You know how to do that, you do it to me all the time." 

"He's a brat, Kon." 

"He's your little brother, too." 

"I know, but he makes it so hard sometimes! I try to keep my cool around him and have fun, but we end up pissing each other off more than anything! I love him more when he isn't around…" 

"You love the idea of a little brother, not necessarily having one." 

"Exactly. Plus, he tried to kill me when we met. I mean, not exactly a good first impression." 

"Right. I think the best way for you two to get along better is to just talk. You keep trying to get along without the communication, so it ends up forced and blows up in your face. Maybe, if you expressed that you wanted to try and be better friends, you two would be more mindful of each other?" 

"Kon, you're a blessing, you know that?" 

"I try." 

"Did Alfred really catch you half naked trying to climb out a window?" 

"Well…" 

 

~~~

 

Tim walked down to the cave after his movie date with Conner and paused before making himself known to the others in the room. Damian was in between Dick and Jason, crying. Jason of all people could connect with the kid, and yet Tim was still trying to figure out how to approach him. Great. Good job Tim, you've replaced Jason as the least sociable family member.

"I don't understand how to make them go away…" Damian muttered. 

"It doesn't go away, Damian. You have to power through it." Jason pat his head, "You're going to have nights when you want to die all over again just to make the nightmares go away, but you gotta remember life is worth it more than going back there." 

"I wake up and I'm so cold…I feel like my chest is bleeding out from the wound that isn't there anymore." 

"I know. My whole body just aches sometimes." 

"Do you still have the scars?" Damian asked.  

"Still got 'em," Jason said, lifting his shirt, "Don't know how, since your Granddad's pit is supposed to cleanse people of that shit." 

"That Y shaped one, Jaybird..." Dick began with hesitance. 

"Yeah, that's my autopsy, it doesn't hurt much as the crowbar ones." 

"That is gnarly," Dick said, running his hand across it. 

Jason nodded, but took Damian's hand. "How does your arm feel?" 

"Hurts." 

Tim tilted his head and squinted. A batman band-aid was laid across Damian's forearm. 

"I know it gets overwhelming Damian but you can't keep hurting yourself like this, it'll only make it worse." Dick said. 

"Pain makes the nightmares go away." 

"But you can't let them control you," Jason said, rolling his sleeves up. The thin scars on Jason's arm were already fading into nothing. "Look, If I can get control of it and stop, so can you." 

"I don't know how." 

"What do you use?" Jason asked. 

"I have a batarang stashed in my dresser…" 

"Is it okay if I take it?" Jason asked. "I won't do it if you really don't want me to, but if you really want to stop like you told us, I'll take it." 

"Take it." 

Tim knew this was something he wasn't supposed to know. Now he felt awful again. He backed up to make it seem like he was just now coming down the stairs, having heard enough. He coughed as he walked towards them, prompting Jason to shove his sleeves down and the other boys to sit up straight. 

"I'm gonna go out on patrol," Tim declared, "Will you come with me, Damian?" 

"Why?" he scowled. "I can't stand you." 

"I wanted to talk, and maybe…change that?" 

"You have made it clear that you are insensitive to my feelings, and I have expressed likewise." 

"I know, and I'm…sorry. Come out just for tonight? If you still hate me we don't have to do it again." 

"Alright, if we must." 

"I hear there's a big thing going down between Two Face and Black Mask tonight, wanna hit up the warehouse?" 

"Fine." 

Tim shot Dick and Jason a worried glance. 

"We'll be here if you need us," Dick called as they climbed into the Batmobile. 

 

~~~

 

And that's how it started. Tim had no idea what they were in for going to that warehouse by themselves. 

 

They surveyed the perimeter, taking down about 5 snipers on the place before descending upon the building. Damian was perfect in quiet situations, and Tim didn't talk much anyways. The sign language they picked up from Cassandra was so useful for silent missions. They dropped down right in the middle of the deal, when Two-Face and Black Mask had just put their differences aside too. Damian had no qualm with taking down their muscle while Tim dealt with the villains. 

"Grenade!" he heard Damian call from across the room. Thankfully it was only smoke. Tim switched his mask setting and swiveled. Two-Face and Black Mask were gone? He searched for Damian, finally finding his heat signature. He was standing by himself, like he was looking for Tim, but someone was sneaking up behind him. 

"Robin look out!!" Tim hollered. 

Damian turned around to face his attacker, only to be met with an oxygen mask on his face. Tim rushed towards them to see Scarecrow on top of his little brother, holding him down with the mask full of fear toxin. 

"GET OFF HIM!" Tim screeched. He swung his staff hard, colliding with the side of Scarecrow's head. Another smoke grenade and suddenly Crane's heat signature was gone from Tim's mask readings. "Robin?!" Tim turned at full speed and dropped his staff to look over the smaller boy. 

Damian coughed. He looked like he was spacing out. This got bad, fast. Tim pressed his ear to activate his comms, but the signal was jammed? How the hell did they-? 

Well fuck. 

Tim gathered the little bird in his arms and tried to find the way they came out of. He started for the door but noticed the little red numbers attached to a nearby box. In fact, several nearby boxes. 

10

"Shit!" Tim tried the door. Locked. He didn't have time to pull Damian back through the vents. 

9

He tried the comms again. 

8

"NIGHTWING! HOOD!" he screamed into his earpiece. 

7

Damian started to wake up. He screamed, wrestling his way out of Tim's arms and falling to the ground. 

6 

"Damian, it's me, it's okay! Whatever you're seeing isn't real. It's just Crane!" 

5

"Stay away from me! I'm not going back!" 

"Back where?!?!" 

4

"Shit shit shit what do we do?!" 

3

"CONNER!" Tim called. "HELP US!" 

2

"Is this how Jason felt…" 

1

Tim remembered Damian and he flung himself to the middle of the room where Robin was lying on the floor in fetal position. 

 

The explosion almost blew his ear drums out. All Tim had to know he was alive was the shivering child underneath him. He reached to his belt and pulled out the mini flashlight he kept on him. 

"Damian! Are you okay?" He pushed himself up, only to find a mound of rubble on top of him, with not much space to move. He saw Damian's arms extending upwards, holding a slab of concrete up from crushing them. 

"Your powers, holy shit I thought they were going away," Tim tried moving everything he could. Legs were a no-go, stuck under something. Damian's face was bloody, and one of the arms that was holding up the concrete was bent at an awkward angle. 

"Please don't take me back," Damian whispered to Tim. "Please," 

"Take you where? Damian do you recognize me?" 

"Please I don't want to die again."  

For the first time since they'd met, Tim saw fear in Damian's eyes. His tiny, ten year old face twisted in pain and absolute horror. His fucking tooth was missing, that dumb baby tooth that Tim teased him about for weeks. It took so much to remember that Damian was a child. 

"You're not going to die, not on my watch, Baby Bird." Tim dug around in his utility belt until he found the spare fear gas antidote. Damian squirmed underneath him when he pulled out the vial, and Tim thought they were going to get crushed then and there, but somehow he managed to force Damian's mouth open and make him drink it. 

Damian squeezed his eyes shut, trying to keep the tears inside. He coughed and choked out a sob, only to start breathing the way he was that morning. 

"Hey, Damian, you're going to be okay. They'll find us. Damian please you gotta calm down." _Or you'll drop the concrete and we'll be squished_ , Tim wanted to say. "Damian, focus on my breathing remember? Match my breathing. You can do it." 

"I can't." 

Tim watched Damian's arms as the concrete budged closer down on them. Damian's gloves were in ruins, blasted off by the explosion. Thin, pink lines at the crook of his elbow caught Tim's attention. Damian's conversation with Dick and Jason from earlier in the cave raced through his brain again.

"Damian, please try. In, 2…3…, out, 2…3…Just like Conner was showing you this morning. Think about Dick and Jason. Bruce, even. Focus on a specific memory of them and hold on to it in your head and slow down your breathing." 

He seemed to be reacting well, his chest didn't look like it was going to burst anymore. 

"Now, where are you hurt?" Tim asked. 

"Side…" 

He looked down to see a piece of the metal foundation sticking into his waist, wet with blood. 

"Alfred will get you all patched up, okay?" 

"You too…" Damian whimpered. His eyes flicked to Tim's shoulder, where he just now noticed the metal chunk buried there. 

"We'll be okay." 

"I can't hold it…" 

"Yes yes yes you can Damian please. For Dickie Bird and Jason and Alfred and Titus and Alfred the Cat. For…Dad. Hold on a little bit longer for Dad okay?" 

Tim didn't know what to do, he wouldn't get his chance to make things right, it wasn't supposed to go like this. 

"Damian, I'm sorry." He said, holding his little brother's face in his hands, "I was supposed to be better to you. I was supposed to be like Dick and Jason, but instead I let my jealously of you get in the way. You came in and turned Bruce's world around when I was still trying to heal. I lost three people in only a few months. Bruce's attention went from my problems straight to you, and I was furious and confused and hateful. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I missed you so much when you were gone, because I knew in my heart I didn't hate you. I couldn't hate my little brother no matter how much you pissed me off on purpose or on accident." 

Damian looked up at Tim and the older could feel a little bit of the pressure on his back lifted. 

"I was conditioned into being a monster for the first ten years of my life by my mother, my grandfather, and the legacy they were grooming me for. They taught me how to murder, how to desolate, hate, and rule the world. They didn't teach me this. I never knew how to apologize. I still don't. Father, this family, you taught me how to love, and forgive and be part of something greater than myself. I came into a family that was already established, that already knew how to love each other. I was the one who destroyed it. I apologize to you for trying to murder you. Not so much for the crafty pranks and jokes, but for the…truly awful things I've said and done to you before. It was unwarranted, and I too, was jealous of the love and attention Father gave you." 

"The grass is always greener…" 

"We both thought the other was more loved and fit in better in the family." 

"When we both have a place." 

"I can't hold this concrete forever," Damian said. 

"I know." 

"You've never done this before…I'm sorry it had to be like this." 

"I'm sorry you have to do it again." 

Tim's lungs burned from the dust. He felt more blood seep from his shoulder and he closed his eyes. 

"Tim? Tim! Don't leave…" 

But he couldn't help it. He slumped over onto his brother, unconscious. 

Damian begged his arms to hold up until help came. The dust wasn't doing much to him, considering the adrenaline rush was fueling his powers and making him invulnerable to such things. After what felt like such a long time, he couldn't hear the sound of Tim breathing anymore, and his arms felt weaker than ever. 

"I'm sorry…" He said one more time. 

 

And all at once, the weight was gone, and a bright light flashed in his face. 

"Oh my god, Conner! They're here!" Dick's voice. 

"Shit! Tim?!" The kryptonian called out, coming to the hole Dick and Jason had made. 

"Damian! Oh thank god you boys are alive." 

"I don't know about Drake…" Damian wheezed. "He passed out ages ago. Careful digging him out, his legs are trapped under the rest of the rock." 

"He's not breathing," Conner pulled the rubble off of them in seconds until he got Tim free and sped away to a flatter area. "Tim come on, stay with us!"

He rushed into CPR while Dick and Jason got Damian out. 

"Shit Dami, your arm." 

"I don't care about that, save Drake!" Damian hissed. 

Conner pumped his hands on Tim's chest, pausing to give mouth to mouth every few seconds. 

"Tim please." Dick said. "Not you too." 

Tim coughed violently, gasping for air and calling for Damian. 

"He's okay, Damian's alive," Conner assured him, holding him by the shoulders to keep him lying down. 

He pushed his way out of Conner's grasp and crawled to Damian, engulfing him in a hug. 

"What happened to you two?" Jason asked. 

"We were ambushed," and that's all Tim would say. The rest was between him and his little brother until they decided otherwise, and they could decide that at the hospital. 

 

~~~ 

 

2 weeks later 

 

Damian stretched his arm. The cast was ungodly, with doodles from a bored Dick Grayson all over it, mostly half-assed Bat symbols with some Robins thrown in. Jason contributed a few Red Hoods and Stephanie drew some smiley faces. Cassandra's straight up painting of a real robin near his elbow took the cake however. 

He sipped at the tea Alfred had made him while he sat with Tim and Barbara in the cave. The others were busy and Babs offered to help Tim adjust to the wheelchair. 

"You're going to be in it for almost 6 months, so I just wanted to make sure you can get the most out of it while having it." 

"How do I do a wheelie?" Tim asked. 

Damian snorted. 

After their self defense practice Barbara got a call from Dick, prompting Tim to wheel over to where Damian sat on the bench, shirtless and sweating from his own defense training.

"Here," Tim said. He handed him a plain black washable marker

"-tt- what's this for?" 

"Those," Tim pointed to Damian's arms, where new Batman band-aids had surfaced. 

"What? How did-" 

Tim rolled up his sleeves, showing Damian his own set of faded white lines and sighed, "Tell Jason to keep the batarang for good, and whenever you have the nightmares, just draw on your skin instead of cutting it. Works wonders for pent up anger and anxiety. And you like drawing anyways, so just go for it. Scribble, do geometric shapes. You can always come to me to talk about this. I'll listen to whatever you need to say."  

Damian looked between the marker in his hands and Tim's arms. He dropped the marker, launching himself into Tim's chair and causing them to roll backwards and then fall over completely. Damian nuzzled into Tim's neck, and the older could feel the wetness of the tears on his skin. 

"Are you boys okay?!" Barbara asked, pulling Tim's chair up with both of the boys in it. 

"Just fine," Tim said, "We're just fine."

 


End file.
